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Hybrid View

We want the Lorebook back, and API access or other means to see char info out of game

This is intended as a complaint because in my opinion, some very important features got removed from the game and I would like to have them back.
If you like to support this request, please reply below.

Every civilized complaint should be constructive, so no flaming or foul language please.

Also I would like to point out, that the new web page looks really well and is clearly an improvement in terms of looks, no more mis-formated text in navigation links, no more half working features.

To business: What happened?

It seems that with the last update (August 1st 2013) and introduction of the new web page and forums

The lore book got removed with no replacement

Links to display character information out of game do not work anymore.

No API or other way to keep up with game items and their properties seems available to players

I would like to make a strong case to give us these things back because we really need them! If Turbine wants to redo them in a better way (API: look at Eve online for example) then I will be patiently waiting, but I definitely want to feed back that things were removed that we absolutely will miss and want back!

I don' want to take screen shots of my equipment all the time, nor do I like to constantly load and unload my characters, and taking notes of stats, just so my crafting char can manufacture the right kind of equipment. This is definitely not effective and kills the fun in crafting. We need a way to display char info in a web browser, or we need the ability to log on more than one char from the same account.

Also for all our guild web pages, we would love to have a consistent way to link to ingame items, with correct graphics, tool tips, and all.

Agree

While I, too, would like these back, I sincerely doubt they'll ever return simply due to the resources it took to run them.

If this cutback on the website means that they're putting more resources into the game itself, then it would be hard to argue for the website. It's also possible that they just had to cut back on one resource, period, and they decided that it would be the website community, making it just a forum (and the well liked lottery) instead.

And, in all honesty, if they get the ability to put more resources into something in the future, but it's choosing between something ingame and something online, I'd vote for ingame improvements (and actual improvements that are generally well received :P )

While it would be nice, we've had alternatives for quite a while (Lotro-Wiki) and for quite a while those had already been better maintained than the official features. Character updating was buggy, no item since U9 had been added to the database (that was over 6 months ago!), character signatures weren't updating correctly, etc.

I would like to see something added that allows other sites to maybe pick up some of that functionality on their own, but with how many problems those things gave to the LotRO site, I don't think I'd want to see them back here.

(...) we've had alternatives for quite a while (Lotro-Wiki) and for quite a while those had already been better maintained than the official features.
(...) I would like to see something added that allows other sites to maybe pick up some of that functionality on their own

I agree that the community's willingness to spend time developing wiki pages, websites, and other resources is impressive and exactly for that reason, I am asking for some kind of export/API access. Without it, we can not even display what our characters are wearing right now from outside the game.

@Orc Bane: indeed missed the point, forum speed will not be affected in any way.

2. Everyone has known for months that they would be taking this stuff away.

3. Threads like this are now against the community guidelines:

11. Polls and Petitions.
While we consider this spam, we felt we should explain why. First, several pages of /signed and /unsigned doesn’t really offer us much in the way of actionable feedback. Second, they usually turn into something unpleasant. Instead we recommend a well-considered suggestion posted in the appropriate area that would allow for meaningful contributions and opinions to be shared by all members of the community.

funny how many people only show up after the change... obviously many never read the forums, it has been told for 4 months now, if you want something similar i would check out lotro wiki as a substitution

I wouldn't mind having the character information back. It was nice to see what my toons had, but I won't hold my breath for them.

If it means the site will run smoother without that and the other missing features, then I rather take a smoother working site. (But I haven't played around much with the new site yet, so I don't know what it does or does not do quite yet.)

Sorry to say that, but I don't want the Lorebook back. The few times I loaded it (because a Google link pointed at an entry) I had it more often than not happen that I would see nothing but an error message, because the structure of the Lorebook wasn't fit for the German version of the Lotro Community pages. Also, the information given was in many cases not as detailed as I would have liked it to be. The Lotro-Wiki pages OTOH are a fairly well kept source of a lot of information, and I visit them quite often. So, sorry but I can't join the petiton.

These features have loaded their character databases to the point where they've turned off updates for weeks at a time before. Mostly, these features have generated complaints in the past few years... why are my sigs and character sheets so badly out of date? Why are the forums so slow? Etc. When they decided to update the forums, it was their opportunity to leave behind some of the problem children (from their point of view).

It seems that with the last update (August 1st 2013) and introduction of the new web page and forums

The lore book got removed with no replacement

Links to display character information out of game do not work anymore.

No API or other way to keep up with game items and their properties seems available to players

Actually, the API is still available on an "as is" basis, for now... it's just badly out of date, and likely to stay that way. The rest of it was announced back in April, and put into a Stickied thread.

I understand some people like them, but I'll take fast forums every day of the week and twice on Sunday over any of that stuff. Lorebook was often out of date and/or incomplete, I don't care a fig about leader boards, and I've had character sigs turned off since about a week after they first arrived.

Alt-tab is your friend. Open a browser and point i to the LotRO Wiki and you will have a good substitute for the Lorebook.

If out-of-game access to character data were restored by some means or other, then either it should only be possible to view your own characters, or their should be an easily accessible means to turn off access by others.

The one thing I miss is Lorebook, and the quest list I could easily copy-paste to Excel and create my own "to-do" -lists for my characters (I am a quest-o-holic!). While Lotro-Wiki is definitely good and useful, it has never been as perfect as Lorebook what comes to quests (I didn't say Lorebook was perfect either but closer!) and the formatting is not as "Excel-friendly".

What I would love (and I have mentioned this since... Lorebook was first introduced actually) is that there was some kind of in-game export that Turbine would do every time there is an update to the game so we would get an up-to-date quest list etc... I know that will probably never happen but one can always wish.

I don't think I will be missing the lorebook, it was always out of date and rarely worked very well. As for API access, I agree it would be nice to have but if it's something that had to be sacrficed for functional forums then I think I can live with that.

If they call removing the lorebook an improvement, they are sadly mistaken. Why do they put a slick, glossy coat on things, remove the features you like and call it new and improved? go back to the drawing broad and give us our wiki, it is too important to delete!

the lorebook

I too want it back, I have missed it since it was removed, and for me this may be a deal breaker as I used it all the time. The wiki does not replace it, as it doesn't have the same or as much
information and is much harder to search. I realize the lorebook needed updating the information in it as is, was extremely helpful. Please bring back all these things.

lorebook loss

This is not good..the forums do not have the info that the lorebook and wiki have....this sucks. I need info that I would have found in the old site....but it is not here. I am not happy with this at all.

Kinship status

I am really going to miss my kinship " Captains Of Middle Earth" page..
I over the years had come to rely on that page to see accomplishments of members, so that when i logged on, I could send a Gratz.
also made it nice to see if members had left so i could inquire. since theres no way of knowing who leaves when you have alot of members.
seems to be alot of good. but some bad, need some kind of balance here. just give me back my page that was linked. please i beg you.
regardless, I love Lotro. Briannas Vilya server.